(Silverjohn/iStock/Getty Images)

B.C. grants late AgriStability enrolment for 2018

Fire, flooding and a drop in raspberry prices in 2018 have spurred the federal and British Columbia governments to trigger the AgriStability late-participation mechanism. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her provincial counterpart Lana Popham, at an event Monday in Vernon, B.C., invoked the new late-participation rule for the 2018 AgriStability program year, “to help farmers […] Read more



File photo of a cowboy herding cattle near a Mexican roadside. (GummyBone/iStock/Getty Images)

Mexican farmers urge ‘mirror’ tariffs on Trump’s rural base

Mexico City | Reuters — Leaders of Mexico’s agricultural sector are urging “mirror measures” on U.S. farm imports in politically sensitive products such as yellow corn and poultry, in an effort they argue would counter decades of subsidized imports from the United States. The three-month-old government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador is currently working […] Read more

Marie-Claude Bibeau (centre), shown here Feb. 11 announcing federal funding for a Smucker’s Foods dairy plant at Sherbrooke, Que., is Canada’s new agriculture minister. (MCBibeau.Liberal.ca)

Mini-shuffle includes new federal agriculture minister

Vancouver MP Jody Wilson-Raybould’s exit from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s cabinet has led to a mini-shuffle and a new federal minister for agriculture and agri-food. Marie-Claude Bibeau, MP for the Quebec riding of Compton-Stanstead since 2015, replaced Lawrence MacAulay as agriculture minister on Friday, becoming the first woman to handle the ag portfolio. MacAulay, the […] Read more


A washout on Manitoba PR 346 south of Brandon in April 2017. (Manitoba Co-operator file photo by Alexis Stockford)

Manitoba to prepare for spring flooding

Some major waterways in agricultural Manitoba are expected to spill their banks this spring, according to the provincial infrastructure department’s first official flood outlook for the year. Assuming normal weather conditions for the season, southern Manitobans can expect levels on the Red River south of the floodway to peak near 2011 levels, the department said. […] Read more



The Red River in southern Winnipeg. (File photo by Dave Bedard)

U.S. agency sees high spring flood risk for Red River

As most of Western Canada continues to brace for frigid temperatures, some in southern Manitoba are already preparing for a messy spring. The U.S. National Weather Service on Thursday reported the Red River is in danger of significant flooding due to rapid snowmelt in March. Its report stated the risk for significant snowmelt flooding is […] Read more



A soybean plantation in Brazil. (MailsonPignata/iStock/Getty Images)

Brazil may raise farm subsidies despite belt-tightening

Brasilia | Reuters — Brazil could double spending on subsidized farm insurance in 2020 and may expand subsidized loans, the country’s agriculture policy secretary said on Thursday, even though the new government’s economic team has pledged to cut spending. The negotiations on next year’s farm subsidies highlight the powerful agribusiness lobby’s struggle to preserve benefits […] Read more

File photo of wheat being loaded onto a bulk vessel at port in Russia. (YGrek/iStock/Getty Images)

Russian agricultural firms raided over suspected tax evasion

Moscow | Reuters — Meat producer Cherkizovo and farming conglomerate Rusagro were among agricultural firms across Russia targeted in a sweeping investigation into suspected tax evasion on Wednesday. The Tax Service said so far five potential breaches had been uncovered in inspections carried out with the Federal Security Service (FSB) at agricultural holdings across 13 […] Read more